This press will publish at least two volumes of poetry a year, one in the spring, one in winter. As I become more adept as a publisher, I hope this number will increase to at least three (or more) volumes a year.

Mule published Time's Fool by Dr. Harry Moore of Decatur, AL; The Caterpillars at Saint Bernard by James Miller Robinson of Huntsville, AL, and Awakening to Holes in the Arc of Sun, by Ms. Carey Link of Brownboro, AL. The next poet in the queue is Ms. Leslie Nichole Thomas of Huntsville. My goal is to publish as many poets as possible, known and unknown, especially from North Alabama: Huntsville, Decatur, Birmingham, Athens, Fort Payne, Montevallo, Tuscaloosa--most any town or city north of Montgomery/Prattville.

Manuscripts sent prior to June 1 will not be read.

To be eligible for publication, your manuscript must contain at least 50% of alreadypublished poems. The journals, magazines, anthologies, etc. in which they were published must also be "reputable" or, at least, "respectable" in the poetry community. I have just recently added this publication requirement because Mule is being innundated with submission manuscripts.

Each volume will be 32-40 pages, including acknowledgments, table of contents, title page, copyright page, dedication, and blank pages at front and back. Even though we're just a "Mule," we like to think of ourselves as a "classy Mule."

Poets provide slide of photo, artwork, or drawing for the cover. Mule subcontracts the cover design to Scott Panciera/Panciera Design. He takes the material you send for the cover and designs it for you. Of course, poets have the final say about their approval for the cover.

REVIEWS of Chapbooks Published by Mule on a Ferris Wheel

Look for Time's Fool by Harry Moore--Released 2014.

﻿What Beth Thames,former columnist for the New York Times has to say about this Mule publication:

In this collection of poems, Harry Moore offers an intimate look at family, the one in the poet's memory as well as the one gathered around the Sunday table. He writes o the simple tasks of domestic life: getting grandchildren to daycare; pitching a Nerf ball;tying back a pony-tail; massaging a tired wife's back, as well as the difficult task of "chasing the lost years" of adult children. In the "mix and match" family he has created, there are the children of his blood and those who become blood over time, with "hearts grown firm with years." These are poems of bridges broken and bridges mended, and while some of them chronicle loss and regret, most sing with simple gratitude for the love that alters not.

What Jennifer Horne, professor at Honor's College, at the University of Alabama; the editor of Working the Dirt: an Anthology of Southern Poets; co-editor of All out of Faith; author of Bottle Tree, a collection of poetry has to say about TIME'S FOOL:

Harry Moore's poems give off a glow you can warm yourself by. Here in all its messiness, happiness, and occasional tumult is family life, the world of parents and children, of marriages ended and new ones begun, of the next generation claiming its place. Looking at the different roles he has filled--husband, father, grandfather--the man in these poems cherishes and celebrates love while acknowledging the pain it can bring. Whether exploring the daily and domestic or the sacred and eternal, Moore's poems, with images clear as mountain's air, welcome us into a book that feels like home.

The title of Jimmy Robinson's chapbook, also released in 2014 is TheCaterpillars of St. Bernard.

J. Patrick Travis, New Orleans, Publisher of Portals Press and author of Pitching in the Dark says about Caterpillars:

Perhaps because he lives in 'The Rocket City,' Jimmy M. Robinson crefully constructs his poems via real, vivid details; then, powered by insight, he launches readers from the physical plane up, up into the spiritual realm. This collection, The Caterpillars atSaint Bernard, is one I'll always cherish because I know there will be more times of struggle when 'the uneven floors begin to tremble.'

James Miller Robinson picks up a stone--maybe from a creek--and we can feel, through his lines of poetry, its weight in our own hands, and the tumble of the accidents of eons that brought it to our hand. Wrought with attention to detail and an awareness of 'stars humming a droning melody,' these poems breathe with quiet yearning and a wandering sense of the sacred from New Orleans to Sewanee, all under a stained glass dome where "intermittent angels come and go.

Both of these Mule on a Ferris Wheel publications are on Amazon.com, in Huntsville/Decatur bookstores and specialty shops, and can also be obtained from the publisher/editor, Bonnie Roberts, 1307 Wells Avenue, S.E., Huntsville, AL 35801-1921. The books are priced at $14. and well worth much more. Please make checks or money orders payable to Bonnie Roberts, Mule on a Ferris Wheel. (I know that's hard to get on one line on your check. When announced, you can write your checks simply to Mule on a Ferris Wheel.

Mule and I are very grateful to you for supporting this endeavor of bringing to light words that need, and maybe yearn, to be shared.

We think you will be most satisfied with the fine quality of the cover and texture and look of the inside pages, but more importantly, with the well crafted words of men and women of singular vision.

ANNOUNCING! The Third Mule Poet is Carey Link of Huntsville, Alabama!

Her book was released on February 12, 2016. Awakening to Holes in the Arc ofSun offers both a surreal and raw perspective on what is means always as a human being to struggle with the tension between dark and light, rainbows and shadows, phantoms and summer creeks. In her sometimes open-ended poems, Carey allows the reader to live on both planes, and to decide for ourselves just what "our reality" is and/or what "destination" we choose.

The former Poet Laureate of Alabama, Sue Brannan Walker, says about Awakening:

Carey Link's poetry is a lyrical rainbow of color that emerges from Shadows to create her very own Light.

Carey Link writes to voice her experiences and extend the lifeline of hope to others who face physical challenges and spiritual dilemmas. Her courgeous poetry, primed with images, concrete and esoteric, some encoded, some raw truth, allows her to build a unique world where she encourges us to crawl over surreal terrains or climb skyward on the arms of trees. Carey's poetry is divine inspiration. She gifts us with a heightened awareness of what it is to cherish every moment, whether it is anguish or joy, of this life we are given, and to make it count.

Carey Link's launch reading is on Sunday, February 21, 2016 at the Old Country Church, Burritt Museum on the Mountain, Huntsville, Alabama. Refreshments, both sweet and savory, will be served.

Awakening to Holes in the Arc of Sun can be purchased on Amazon.com, at local Huntsville bookstores and specialty shops, or obtained directly from the publisher, Bonnie Roberts, 1307 Wells Avenue, S.E., Huntsville, AL 35801-1921.

For more information about these "Mule Poets," you can contact me at bonnierpoet@gmail.com, or leave a message here!

For further information about this press, contact Bonnie Roberts at this site, bonnie@bonnierobertspoetry.com, or at her email address, bonnierpoet@gmail.com.

Look for updates in the near future, including the release date for That Desk Is Not My Mother: Poems of Extravagance, Perception, and Paradox.

Mule and I enjoyed this wintry ride on the Santa Monica Pier several years ago at Christmas while we were staying with a friend. My friend and I froze our, uh, ba--s off, even though we don't have any. Mule never said anything one way or another. I have a deep, abiding respect and love for mules because they're hardy, sturdy, highly intelligent creatures--well, except for this one--for getting on the Santa Monica Ferris wheel with me. LOGO for MULE ON A FERRIS WHEEL COMING SOON!

If the press had been called "Fred on a Ferris Wheel," I would have used this photo of Fred, the Dawg, Fred, my dog.

Everyone wonders why Fred is a little "chunky." With those eyes, how could anyone NOT know?